The Desert Trap
by theonewhoisBEST
Summary: The teen program Desert Adventure brings eight teens together, but their friendship is discovered when the teens get lost in the scorching desert. With miles of blazing sand and flaming sun as their only companions, will they be able to pull through? Join Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Leo, and Calypso as they survive the desert trap. Includes the cannon pairings.
1. Prologue

_Summary:_

 _Annabeth needs outdoor credits to make it into the college of her dreams. Percy is given his last chance at redemption at school with extra credit. Piper needs to be away from the city or her dad might discover her secret. Jason's mother in an alcoholic and he's being abused. Hazel was taken away from her mother because of child neglect, but the foster care is so much worse. Frank is bullied because of his weight and his love for animals. Leo has been constantly running after the death of his mother. What is the solution to all of their problems? The library's teen "Desert Adventure" program! They each win the lottery for the trip, but less than 24 hours after getting there, they get lost. Now the eight teens (the seven plus Calypso) must survive on their own in a harsh African desert.  
_

 **The idea for this story just popped into my head while I was writing my other one. It's an AU and none of the Greek Gods exist in this. Happy Reading!**

* * *

Annabeth POV:

"What am I gonna do?" I asked my dad, walking down the streets of San Fransisco with my family. I had just found out that I needed an outdoor credit to get into the college of my dreams and I didn't know how I was going to get that just a few months. My dad and I _had_ to find a solution. We searched every website, every store, every magazine for something.

Eventually my stepmother decided that we needed a little break. She had insisted we come with her, Bobby, and Matthew to the new water park that had opened nearby. The whole time Dad and I had complained about it being a waste of time. If only I had known that the "silly trip" was how we found the solution to our problem, neither of us would've complained and would've had fun.

As we were walking by the library, a man holding flyers ran in front of us and announced, "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

Dad and I looked at each other, not believing our luck. "How do we sign up?"

The man handed us a flyer. "Fill out this information and get a parent's signature."

I quickly filled it out and Dad signed it. We handed it back to him.

"Thank you! Good luck!"

* * *

Percy POV:  


No. No, no, no, no, no! This can't be right. I'll never pass with this grade! I let my head drop into my hands. Why an F? I could've passed with even a D!

I had this last chance to prove myself. To show that I could graduate, that I didn't need to repeat Senior year. And I fail it.

My whole swimming career was dependent on this test. If I didn't graduate, then the swimming scholarship I was offered would be taken back. Mom and Paul didn't have the money to send me to college!

I took a deep breath to clear my mind so I could think. The only option left was to ask to retake the test. I walked over to the teacher's desk after the rest of the class had left.

"Mr. Brunner, could I maybe retake this test?" I proposed.

Mr. Brunner looked up from the book he had been reading and sighed. "Percy, I already compromised to make this test worth your entire grade."

I fidgeted. "I know sir, but..."

Mr. Brunner's scrutinizing gaze lingered on my face. "I suppose there is _one_ thing you can do. But remember my boy, it is the last."

"I'll do it! Please!" I pleaded.

He nodded. "Alright." He booted up his laptop and turned on a video. He gestured for me to watch it with him.

A man appeared on the screen and announced, "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

"You want me too enter the program?" I asked.

"Yes, but that is not all. You must write a paper about what you learn from your experience there. That is, _if_ you are chosen from the lottery." Mr. Brunner reminded me.

"How do I sign up?"

* * *

Piper POV:

I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. "I have to go study with someone at the library. Bye."

"Bye Piper," Dad said from behind me.

I head over to Silena's house to practice. Silena was my friend and her mom was a singer. I often got singing tips from her. I loved to sing, but Dad didn't really think well of singers. He believed them all to be fraud. I could never tell him because he would be extremely disappointed.

On the way, I passed the library. I was just walking past it when, "Where are you going Piper?"

I turned around to see my dad standing behind me. "I thought you were going to the library to study with a friend?"

I turned back around to see a man holding flyers a few feet ahead of me. "I was going to check out some of his flyers."

I walked over to the man and asked, "What are these for?"

"Well," he began, "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

Still shoken up by my near miss I asked, "How do I sign up?" He handed me a flyer to fill out the information. When I was done, I handed it to my dad to sign. He signed it and handed it to the man.

"Where's your friend?" Dad asked suspiciously.

I entered the library and saw a girl of about thirteen sitting on a beanbag reading a book. I walked over to her.

"Hey. Ready for your tutoring lessons? Sorry I'm late."

She looked up confused, but I motioned quietly to her about my dad behind me. She seemed to understand.

"I've been waiting for you!" she exclaimed. I heard my dad leave. We burst out in giggles.

"Thanks for helping me out. My name's Piper," I told her sincerely.

"No problem. You were in trouble. I'm Hazel."

* * *

Jason POV:

Mom was more tipsy than normal. Or maybe I'm not as used, having just come back from boarding school for spring break. My sister Thalia had left as soon as I got home, because, while I was at boarding school, she had to take care of Mom. Because, you know, it would be tragic if she died.

Thalia came back a while later with groceries. Mom didn't mind Thalia like she minded me. Apparently I looked like Dad, so all of her anger on him leaving was take out on me. Because of that, Thalia tried to make sure I wasn't home long.

"Why don't you go to the library?" Thalia offered. I agreed and hurried out of there. I often felt bad about leaving Thalia alone, but whenever I tried to argue, Thalia shut me up somehow.

At the library, a man approached me. He was holding flyers in his hand. He started talking, "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

This was the perfect oppurtunity to get away! I quickly filled out the form and ran home. Thalia forged our mother's signature (she had gotten good at that) and I ran all the way back to give the man my form.

* * *

Hazel POV:

I left the my foster home before dinner to go to the library. The library was my safe haven. Often my foster family ignored me, so life was kind of a bore.

I hated that my mother had been taken from me. She may not have had the best parenting skills, but she was family and I still missed her and New Orleans, our home. The fact that accomplishing her tasks had been the only thing I had known, made it so I often didn't know what to do with my time. I had been homeschooled, if you could call it that, so my social life was nonexistent.

In front of the library door, stood a tall man. He was holding flyers and he stopped to smile at me. "Hello young miss."

"Hello. What are those flyers for?" I wondered.

He gave me an enormous grin. "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

That sounded interesting! Finally something I could do in my time. I took a flyer from him and went inside the library. I set it to the side and found a book to read. I sat down on a beanbag and had just opened my book when―

"Hey. Ready for your tutoring lessons? Sorry I'm late."

I looked up surprised. Were they talking to me?

I saw a pretty Cherokee girl in front of me. She gestured behind her where I saw a man who resembled her. I assumed he was her dad and that he was checking on her.

I played along. "I've been waiting for you!"

Her dad left and I started giggling at the trick we had just played. She laughed along.

"Thanks for helping me," she said smiling warmly. "I'm Piper."

"No problem. You were in trouble. I'm Hazel."

We talked for a little while in which time I found out her dad was some guy named Tristan McLean. She was surprised I didn't know him.

I left in a few minutes and filled out the form. I got it signed from my foster mom and ran back to the library to turn it in.

* * *

Frank POV:

"Mr. Elephant's leaving. The question of the evening. Will he be able to fit through the front door to make it out?" I heard the boys laughter behind me as I left school. My face burned with humiliation.

I wanted to cry, but Grandma Zhang would scold me and tell me to be a man. I had tried starving myself once, but one of the boys found out and ratted on me, which got me another scolding from Grandma Zhang and a year's worth of trips to the guidance counselor.

I was in a Catch-22. The only thing stopping me from going into depression was food, but food was always the cause of the bullying and the reason I could become depressed. I felt like I was being ripped apart. Every word, another seam cut. That's why, when the man came up to me with his offer, I leapt at the chance to get away.

I was passing the library

"Hello sir. Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

With not a moment of hesitation I said, "I'd like to sign up, please."

* * *

Leo POV:

The wet straw beneath me did nothing to stop the uneven bumps of concrete digging into my back. I rolled over, hoping it would be a more comfortable position, but no such luck.

Even if I did get a nice bed, it would do nothing for my lack of sleep. I was constantly haunted by the memory of her. The guilt was seeping through my bones. I was a murderer and even worse, I had killed my own mother.

That awful day's events came flooding through my thoughts like a burst dam. There was no stopping it, no controlling it. I remembered the feeling of fire in my hands, the heat of the blaze. I remembered my mother's screams of terror and how she sobbed. The one thing I could not remember was how she had gotten locked in the burner. Had I done that too? I had always assumed it was me, but it had been eight years.

My aunt Rosa had turned my remaining family against me, so I was sent to foster home after foster home. I was on my sixth time running away.

Sighing, I pulled myself off the dirty alleyway ground, knowing sleep was impossible. As I wandered the streets, I found myself in front of the library.

"Hello sir."

I whipped around, startled. There stood a tall, lanky man holding out a flyer.

"Would you like one?"

"Umm... What is it?" I asked hesitantly.

He smiled at me. "I have a whole speech just for that question." He cleared his throat and began: "Do you need outdoor credits for college? Or maybe you just need to get away. Well then the library's newest teen's program, "Desert Adventure", is the right thing for you! Enter the lottery to win a free trip to one of Africa's deserts. You can explore and learn! The results will be broadcasted on Channel 13 tonight."

"So what do you say? Can't hurt to enter."

I looked at the flyer for a few more seconds. "Uh...y-yeah. L-let me just..." I grabbed the flyer from him and he handed me a pen.

I filled out the information and then saw it required a parent's signature. I slipped away for a moment, forged my mom's signature, and handed it back to him.

This was bound to be interesting.

* * *

That night, the whole city tuned into Channel 13, with the exception of Leo, who watched through some guy's window and Percy who forgot. The fate of eight young people would be decided tonight.

The host a.k.a. the man handing out the flyers appeared on the screen. If you're watching this then you're probably hoping you'll be one of the eight teenagers chosen for Desert Adventure! Our winners will be announced now."

"First winner: Annabeth Chase!"

A father and daughter's cheer could be heard over the honking of traffic and the blasting music.

"Second winner: Percy Jackson!"

Percy wasn't watching, but his teacher, Mr. Brunner, sighed in relief.

"Third winner: Piper McLean!"

It was decided by her father that a party would be thrown in celebration of her victory.

"Fourth winner: Jason Grace!"

Jason and Thalia partied in silent, so she didn't wake up their mother.

"Fifth winner: Hazel Levesque!"

Hazel cheered for some much needed social interaction.

"Sixth winner: Frank Zhang!"

Frank fainted, making his grandmother yell at his unconscious body.

"Seventh winner: Leo Valdez!"

Leo couldn't believe his luck. He became so excited, that he got caught and was chased through the city by a middle-aged man in pajamas.

"Eighth winner: Calypso Titan!"

Calypso watered some flowers in celebration.

"The winners are expected to arrive at the airport at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who signed up. Have a great night!"

* * *

 **The other chapters will NOT be as long as this one. Technically this was the prologue... I think... Nevermind.**

 **I am very bad at updating with a schedule (I get distractedXD) so this will be updated whenever I finish writing.**

 **Bye!**


	2. Percy's Guide To Making Annabeth Angry

**Hey! I'm going to be doing Percabeth, Jasper, Frazel, and Caleo, but I forgot to add it in the prologue.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Annabeth POV:

I got up bright and early to get ready to go. I had done my packing last night, so I only had to get changed. I milled around aimlessly until 7 a.m., when I woke up my dad to get going. The airport was only thirty minutes from our house, but I wanted to get there before everyone else.

My dad offered to carry my bags into his truck, which was a bad mistake. I don't exactly pack light, because it was crucial that every single book I ever owned travel with me. As he struggled to load my stuff, I sat in the passenger seat and doodled in my architecture notebook.

Finally my dad got everything in the truck and we took off.

The whole thirty minutes was spent in silence because my dad was half asleep and too tired to talk. When we reached the airport, there were already plenty of people bustling around. My dad and I parted ways as I went through security. By the time I got in the terminals, I was exhausted. It was too early for the terminal to be open for boarding, so I decided to wait at a coffee shop relatively close.

* * *

Hazel POV:

After two hours of sitting at numerous cafes waiting for the others, I was about ready to strike up a conversation with a stranger. My foster family had told me to take a cab to the airport, and had immediately called one over at four in the morning so that I could leave.

I got to the airport at sometime around five because it took fifty minutes to get here.

Now, I moved to a nearby coffee shop because the owner of the previous one had been starting to glare at me. When I sat down I saw, a few tables over, what I immediately knew was one of the winners.

She had long, blond hair, full of ringlets of curls, that was pulled up in a ponytail. She stood confidently, she walked confidently, she sat confidently. I decided to introduce myself.

"Hey," I smiled as I walked over to her table. "I'm Hazel."

She looked up and I immediately felt intimidated by her piercing gray eyes. I could practically see her mental wheels turning.

She smiled back at me. "Ohhhh. You're one of the other winners, right?"

I nodded, then asked her, "Who are you?"

"I'm Annabeth," she held her hand out and I shook it. She gestured at the open chair in front of her for me to sit down.

"Why are you here so early?" she asked.

"My f―," I stopped myself from saying "foster" and restarted, "My parents got me a cab to the airport at four in the morning."

Annabeth smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, well I woke my dad up at 7 in the morning to drive me here. The horrors!"

We shared a laugh. I was making friends pretty quickly! I couldn't wait to meet the rest.

Annabeth and I both got coffee from the coffee shop we were in and joked for about an hour. At sometime around eight, I recognized the Cherokee girl I had seen that day in the library, walking up to us.

"Piper!" I exclaimed. "I was so excited when I heard that you were going to be part of the expedition!"

She chuckled. "Same here. I was so scared that I wouldn't know anybody."

Suddenly, I realized I had forgotten Annabeth. "Hey!" I said. Looking at Annabeth, I pointed to Piper. "Annabeth this is Piper." Then I turned to look at Piper. "Piper, this is Annabeth. We're all on the trip together."

Annabeth smiled and held out her hand. "Hi."

"Hello," Piper greeted her in response.

"Come on," I said gesturing a chair. "Sit with us Piper."

* * *

Piper POV:

"Come on," Hazel gestured at a chair. "Sit with us Piper."

I accepted her proposal and breathed a mental sigh of relief. I wasn't the only one who had come early.

Dad had a movie shooting at 8:30 today, so I had to come early because he insisted in dropping me off. It was just me and Dad 'cause Mom had left years ago. We used to be really close, but lately he didn't seem to have enough time for me.

Two hours later, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Flight 207, terminal 5 is available. Flight 207, terminal 5 is available."

That was our flight. The three of us got up and sat down in the seats in front of the boarding tunnel. The man who had announced the winners met us there.

"Hello! How are you all?" he exclaimed in his jolly manner.

"We're doing great, thank you," Annabeth answered politely.

"Well, it seems almost all of the ladies are here. It appears the gentlemen haven't chosen to show up yet."

As if on que, a blond (and utterly handsome) boy came walking towards us. He shook hands with each of us one by one.

"Hello. My name's Jason. Are you also here for the trip to Africa?"

I stared at his face longer than I should have and answered him with the most intellectual response my brain was currently able to conceive, "Huh..."

"Umm...," he scratched the back of his head, "So you're not?"

"No! Um, yes... I think... maybe?" I blushed, having made a total fool of myself. Smooth Piper, real smooth.

We both stared at each other confused for a moment before he blurted out, "Piper's a pretty name."

He blushed and ducked his head while I laughed and thanked him. After a moment I realized I hadn't told him my name was Piper.

"Wait... How did you know my name?" I asked him.

He looked puzzled for a moment then said, "It says so on your name tag."

"Name tag?" I looked down at the front of my shirt and sure enough, there was a tag that read: Hello! My name is **PIPER**!

I groaned. Dad had probably put it there this morning to help me make friends. Just then, I became aware of giggling coming from behind me. I turned around to see the laughter coming out of the lips of Annabeth, Hazel, and a girl with jet black hair.

"Thalia?" Jason gaped. "How are you here? I just saw you at home!"

I felt a little jealously creep up the back of my throat. Was this Jason's girlfriend?

"Little bro, you are never getting rid of me. I know a gal who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a gal. They got me in here in like, five minutes." Thalia looked at him with a smug look on her face.

She turned to look at me. "Wow. I don't know how you did it, but you got Mr. Grandpa over here all twisted up. I'm impressed."

"Thalia!" Jason exclaimed turning red. "Why are you still here?"

Thalia laughed. She ruffled his hair as she passed by him on her way out. "Gotta keep my little brother on his toes."

Jason sighed when she left. "I'm sorry, she's awful."

I smiled at him. "I thought it was sweet."

"Come on lovebirds," Annabeth called to us as she joined the host (who had identified himself as Mr. Wittle) and Hazel. "Mr. Wittle wants to tell us something."

* * *

Frank POV:

Grandma Zhang dropped me off at the airport at 10:30. I quickly passed through security and made my way to terminal 5 at around 10:50.

I was nervous to meet the other kids. They were talking amongst their group, so I hung back to avoid calling attention to myself.

After a few minutes, a girl with chocolate-brown skin walked up to me. She introduced herself.

"Hello! My name's Hazel."

I summed up my courage and replied, "My name's Frank." It came out quieter than I had intended and for a moment I feared that she hadn't heard me.

"Frank..." She thought for a moment. "Frank Zhang?" At my nod she continued, "Oh. Then you're here for Desert Adventure. Why don't you come over here with the rest of us?"

I followed her like a lost puppy to the group. We sat down and talked for a while, as my nerves slowly faded.

At 11, we were told to get ready because there were only two more people to show up. At around 11:20, a scrawny Latino boy scrambled through the doors. Hazel knew him, because he had lived with her foster family for a week before running away. I didn't like him because he kept flirting with Hazel and for some reason that made me uncomfortable.

Annabeth started getting impatient because there was still one more boy who was supposed to show up and he was already really late. Mr. Wittle had previously told us that Calypso would be meeting us there.

* * *

Percy POV:

I woke up groggily to the sound of my phone ringing. I reached out and grabbed it.

"Hello?" I asked, still half asleep.

"Percy, my boy! I was finally able to find your number in the school files!" Blared the voice of Mr. Brunner through the speaker.

I shot out of bed. "Why? What did I do? Am I in trouble?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I just wanted to wish you a safe trip."

"Trip? I'm not going anywhere..."

"Percy? You did watch the winners of the Desert Adventure program last night right?"

"Oh. I forgot. Why? Did I like win or something?" I laughed.

When my statement was followed by silence, realization made a breakthrough.

"I won didn't I?" Once again Mr. Brunner was silent.

I sighed and held my head in my hands. "Oh shit."

Mr. Brunner cleared his throat. "Um well. Good luck Percy." With that he hung up.

I scrambled around the room, trying to pack all my stuff together for a month. I ran downstairs with my suitcase in tow, momentarily pausing to explain my situation to Mom. She sighed and told me to hurry.

Running out the door, I made it to the subway station just in time for the next train. I made it through security in record time and entered terminal 5 breathless. Everyone turned to look at me.

"Uhh... Nice weather we're having?" The room was overtaken by an awkward silence.

A man stepped toward me. "Well at least you're here. Traffic must have been mad."

I stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was implying. "Actually I didn't even know I won until like half an hour ago."

Once again the room was silent. The host laughed nervously. "Well, we should get going now. Come on." He beckoned for us to follow him into the plane.

As I followed him, I noticed a blond haired girl glaring at me. I squinted at her confused. She turned away but still looked plenty angry.

I decided to ignore her. Once everyone had boarded, I realized with a sickening lurch that I was afraid of planes.

Oh god. This was bound to be an interesting ride.

* * *

 **Sorry I took so long to update. I finally got a free weekend so I decided to write.**

 **Bye!**


	3. Annabeth Sees a Spider

**Hi.**

 **So last chapter someone asked about Calypso. I actually had the last chapter all typed up before, but I forgot to save it and lost everything. I had to type it all over again, so I probably forgot to include some things. Originally there was a single line of dialogue it which Mr. Wittle told them that Calypso would be meeting them there. Sorry for that! I'll be changing it. I hope that clears up the confusion:)**

 **Without further adieu, The story!**

* * *

Percy POV:

Inside the plane, Mr. Wittle handed out seat tickets. I quickly sat down at the seat I was assigned to, hoping I could catch some sleep. I closed my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep..."That's my seat."

I startled awake. "Huh?" I looked up.

I found myself face to face with the grumpy girl from earlier. "I said you're sitting in my seat." She said annoyed.

"No." I looked down at my ticket and wrinkled my brow. "This is seat 6A. That's where I sit."

She took it from me. "You idiot," she hissed. "You're reading it upside down! You're in seat 9A!"

I gaped at her, then cleverly responded, "No wonder the "A" looked kind of funky."

A few moments passed in silence before she spoke up again. "Well?"

"Well what?" I looked up at her.

"Well aren't you going to move?" She sounded majorly pissed, but I decided that her temper couldn't get any worse.

"But I just got comfortable."

She looked about ready to strangle me. "MOVE!"

Mr. Wittle came up to us. "What seems to be the problem here, Annabeth?"

Annabeth pointed to me. "He's in my seat."

Mr. Wittle looked at the connected empty seat right next to me. "How about you sit in Hazel's seat? She's already decided to sit back there with Frank."

She frowned. "So everyone's got their seats?"

Mr. Wittle nodded. Annabeth sighed and sat down. Once Mr. Wittle had left I asked her, "So your name's Annabeth?"

She glared at me. "No duh, genius."

I would never admit it, but that kind of hurt my feelings. "Whatever." I turned away.

She seemed to sense that she had gone too far. Sighing she asked, "And you're name's Percy?"

"Yeah," I responded.

She grinned a little. "Did you really not know that you had won until this morning?"

I crossed my arms. "Hey! I don't know about you, but I have a whole lot of nothing piled up in the afternoons!"

She laughed. I decided that she was kind of pretty when she smiled. Being the quick sleeper that I was, I drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Annabeth POV:

After my little feud with Percy, I felt kind of bad, so when he fell asleep on my arm, I didn't mind. When he started drooling on me, was when I minded.

I managed to shove a napkin I had gotten from a flight attendant under his chin, thus preventing the drool from reaching my arm. He didn't look as annoying when he was asleep, though I would never admit it.

At one point, he shifted a little and put his hand on my breast, to which I pushed his hand off blushing. Piper had seen it a few seats over and giggled. I blushed further.

When he finally woke up, I was reading a book. He seemed confused for a second, then realized that he was leaning on me. He shot up, cheeks red. I laughed and jokingly told him that he drooled when he slept.

For the rest of the ride, he kind of just sat there, interrupting my reading (which he quickly learned was not okay) and asking me stupid questions.

"Do you own an octopus?"

"No."

"Have you ridden an octopus?"

"No."

"What color are octopuses?"

"No."

"Are you even listening?"

"No."

"Hello? Is anyone in there?"

"No."

"Ok. Are you at the beach?"

"No."

"Are you not at the beach?"

"No."

"So you're at the beach?"

"No."

When the plane finally landed, I was the first one out.

* * *

Jason POV:

As soon as the plane landed, Annabeth bolted out. I saw Piper looking over at her seat and giggling during the plane ride. Oh man, Piper. I am so glad her seat was connected to mine. We talked about a bunch of stuff, from which I learned the three most important things about her (according to me):

1\. She doesn't take any bullshit.

2\. She's a smart and funny person.

3\. She's perfect.

I felt like I had a Romeo and Juliet thing going with her where no one died and we lived happily ever after. So basically the opposite of Romeo and Juliet. I shook my head. I usually prided myself on being a sensible person. Where were these thoughts coming from?

I exited the plane with everyone else and followed Mr. Wittle to a local bus.

"We have this bus to ourselves," he announced. "It will be taking us to the site. Everyone climb aboard!"

We arrived in half an hour. The site was small, with only three cabins for visitors.

He showed us the girls' cabin and the guys' cabin. He himself would be sleeping in the third guest cabin.

We were introduced to Calypso who had had an emergency last minute, so was dropped off here by her rich father in there private jet. We were given an hour to settle in before we began our first adventure.

A guide took us deep into an African safari to learn about the cacti. We learned that young cacti are better to eat raw, because older cacti contain more acids. We were taught not to drink cactus water because it stores carbon dioxide.

In the midst of it all, Percy had gotten curious. "What's that?" he asked touching a plant next to him.

The guide's eyes went wide. "That is a severely toxic plant! If not treated, it will slowly suck up your energy and dehydrate you two times faster than normal!"

Percy looked at him for a second. "So that relates to me how?"

The guide looked at Mr. Wittle. "Is it possible for a person to be so stupid?"

Annabeth hissed. "HOW DARE YOU? I'm the only one allowed to call him stupid!"

Percy looked surprised, but nodded in agreement.

The guide glared at them, but turned to Mr. Wittle and said, "There is treatment back at the site. I can go and get it."

"I'll come with you." Mr. Wittle followed him to the bus in which we had come. He turned around and told us, "You guys stay here. Don't go anywhere. We'll be returning in this spot."

We nodded in understanding and watched the two leave.

Percy turned to Annabeth and asked, "So you're the only one allowed to call me stupid, huh?"

"Shut up, Seaweed brain." She turned around and stomped away.

"Seaweed brain?" he asked.

"Yeah, 'cause you had that whole ocean thing going in the plane."

"So you were listening to me..." He followed her.

Piper laughed. "Oh god. They're so cute."

I turned to her surprised. "What do you mean?"

She gaped at me. "You can't tell? They're so into each other."

I could not in fact tell, but I decided not to tell her that. I was just about to answer her when Frank spoke up.

"Guys. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a lion I see glaring at us?"

We all turned to look at where Frank was pointing. I squinted at made out the shape of a lion definitely looking our way.

"Well, I don't think it's going to get any closer," I tried to reassure him, attempting to keep my voice confident. I saw Frank shaking from the corner of my eye.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. "That sucker looks pretty angry to me."

Frank's eyes went wider and I could tell he was about to bolt. "I'm sure." I glared at Percy. "He'll leave."

Percy was about to respond, but then saw Piper and Hazel trying to calm Frank down and closed his mouth.

Calypso was braiding and unbraiding her hair, trying to make it seem like she didn't care, but kept an eye on the lion from the corner of her eye. Leo was fidgeting with something in his pockets and Annabeth looked down to avoid looking at it.

"Guys," Frank spoke up once more, "I've read all about lions. Our best chance is to keep quiet. They're colorblind, so that makes it harder for him to know that we're here."

The group managed to follow Frank's advice for about a total of two seconds.

"AHHHH!" Annabeth shrieked.

I quickly looked up to see the lion snarl our way and start to pace. Percy leapt to Annabeth's side.

"What's wrong?" he asked worried.

Annabeth kept screaming and grabbed on to his shirt. "HELP! OH MY GOD!"

"What is it?!" Percy panicked **(at the disco)**.

Annabeth kept hold of her deathly grip on his shirt. "IT'S A SPAWN OF THE DEVIL!"

"What is it?!" Percy asked again.

"IT'S A SPIDER!" She pointed to a spot near her foot and there was a huge spider. Not stopping to hesitate, Percy stepped on it. It died with a quiet crunch.

Annabeth let go of his shirt and pulled herself together.

Percy cleared his throat. "So um, I take it you're afraid of spiders."

Annabeth looked up to see everyone staring at her. "Yeah. I get a little freaked out."

Everyone was quiet. "So can we all agree to pretend that never happened?" She looked up, waiting. Slowly the rest of us nodded.

With a start, I realized we had forgotten about the lion. I turned around slowly, to see the giant cat within a mere 600 feet of us. "Umm... Maybe we should get out of his way..."

Frank saw the lion and blurted out, "That's a lion's hunting stance!"

With Frank in the lead, our entire group bolted. The lion bound after us.

We got lucky because the lion bumped into a baby zebra and stopped for a meal. Frank, on the other hand, kept going.

Hazel tried to tell him to stop, but he only responded with: "I know why seeing the lion there felt strange. Lions always hunt in packs! The others are probably nearby!"

Everyone decided to follow his lead. By the time Frank decided to take a break, we were nowhere near where Mr. Wittle had dropped us off.

"We should head back now," Calypso declared. This was the first thing I'd heard her say all trip.

"Yeah," Leo agreed. "You wouldn't want to get _lost_ out here would you?" He grinned.

I stared at him and Hazel sighed. "And these are the stupid jokes he makes. You get used to it."

Frank refused to lead us again, so Annabeth was nominated in his place. We wandered around for a while before coming to the conclusion that we were, in fact lost. When the sun started to go down, we took a break.

Annabeth got out a pack of trail mix and we all shared a little. I don't know why, but in a crazy moment of insanity, I started laughing.

"We must have looked so funny running away from the lion. I'm still not even sure how we escaped."

Leo grinned. "But what if Mr. Lion decides to come back for round two? Who are we willing to sacrifice?"

All fingers pointed to Leo. "Hey!"

Percy's face took on a mischievous grin. "I don't think the lion would even want to eat you dude. Your hair looks kind of hard to digest.

"What! No way!" he said, indignantly. "Don't be getting all cocky. Have you seen your own hair?"

"That lion would want to eat me way more than you!"

"Don't lie to yourself. He'd obviously want to eat me!

"Are you sure about that? I'm seriously doubting it!"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Annabeth decided angrily. "We'll be sure to feed you both to the lion if that's what you want."

I sighed. "Let's try to get some sleep here. I'll keep first watch."

"Watch?" asked Calypso.

"Yeah. To make sure that there are no lions or anything."

"Well, don't wake me up to take watch. I need my beauty sleep," Leo declared, lying on the ground.

 _Please!_ I screamed in my head. _Someone find us already!_

* * *

 **I liked what I wrote at the beginning of this chapter, but I'm not really enjoying the end. Sorry if some of the facts are incorrect, I researched the part about the cacti, and gave up.**

 **If you think anything sounds wrong or I made a mistake, please let me know! Bye!**


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